[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 225 (Monday, November 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64699-64713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-31243]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6191-8]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request: Application for the National Roster of Environmental
Dispute Resolution and Consensus Building Professionals
AGENCY: U. S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, and
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit the
following proposed Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB): National Roster of Environmental
Dispute Resolution and Consensus Building Professionals, EPA ICR
#1888.01. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA
is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information
collection (see the section A below entitled ``Questions to Consider in
Making Comments''). This document provides information on the need for
the roster and the information to be recorded in the roster and a
discussion of qualification requirements for applicants wishing to be
listed on the roster. Copies of the qualifications requirements and
draft application form have been distributed widely for review through
professional societies such as the Society of Professionals in Dispute
Resolution and the International Association of Public Participation.
The Roster will not be open to receive applications until all Paperwork
Reduction Act requirements are met.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 22, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Consensus and Dispute Resolution
Program, Mail Code 2136, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,
DC 20460, fax: (202) 260-5478.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Dalton, Deputy Director,
Consensus and Dispute Resolution Program, Mail Code 2136, Environmental
Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460, fax: (202) 260-5478;
email:dalton.deborah@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Potentially Affected Persons
You are potentially affected by this action if you are a dispute
resolution or consensus building professional in the environmental or
natural resources field who wishes to be listed on the National Roster
of Environmental Dispute Resolution and Consensus Building
Professionals. This Roster will be one of several sources of
information which federal environmental and natural resource agencies
will use to identify appropriately experienced conflict resolution
professionals for use in resolving environmental and natural resource
disputes or issues in controversy under the Administrative Dispute
Resolution Act of 1996 and the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1996.
Title: Application for the National Roster of Environmental Dispute
Resolution and Consensus Building Professionals--EPA ICR #1888.01.
Background
A. Questions to Consider in Making Comments
The U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution and EPA
request your comments to any of the following questions related to
establishing a National Roster of Environmental Dispute Resolution and
Consensus Building Professionals:
(1) Is the proposed roster (``collection of information'')
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agencies,
including whether the information will have practical utility?;
(2) Is the agencies' estimate of the time spent completing the
application form (``burden of the proposed
[[Page 64700]]
collection of information'') accurate, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used?;
(3) Can you suggest ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected?; and
(4) Can you suggest ways to minimize the burden of the collection
of information on those who are to respond, including through the use
of appropriate automated electronic, mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of responses?
B. What Are the Statutory Bases for Use of Dispute Resolution and
Consensus Building Professionals in Agency Disputes?
The Administrative Dispute Resolution Act (ADRA), Public Law 101-
552, authorizes and encourages agencies to use mediation and other
consensual methods of dispute resolution as alternatives to traditional
dispute resolution processes. The Negotiated Rulemaking Act (NRA),
Public Law 101-648, authorizes and encourages agencies to use consensus
building methods as a means of developing regulations. Both Acts
anticipate the use of a ``neutral,'' an individual who, with respect to
an issue in controversy, functions specifically to help the parties in
resolving the controversy. Neutrals may be facilitators, mediators,
conciliators, arbitrators or early neutral evaluators. The 1990 ADRA
called for the Administrative Conference of the U.S. to establish
standards for neutrals and to maintain a roster of individuals who met
the standards. The Administrative Conference of the U.S. was abolished
in 1995 and its roster subsequently lapsed.
The U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution was
established by Congress in 1997 (Public Law 105-156) to assist in the
resolution of environmental conflicts in which the federal government
is a stakeholder. The Institute is housed at the Morris K. Udall
Foundation, a federal commission located in Tucson, Arizona. The
Institute is authorized to direct its resources to resolve costly
environmental conflicts outside the courtroom and to foster
collaborative agreements among affected parties concerning the
implementation of federal environmental, public lands and natural
resources policy. Federal agencies are authorized by the new law to
employ the Institute to assist in alternative conflict resolution in
matters involving environmental, natural resources and land-related
disputes. The Institute will operate primarily as a facilitator and
broker for public and private stakeholders. The Institute's small
professional staff will accomplish most of its work through partnering
and subcontracting with existing qualified professionals with
longstanding experience in environmental conflict resolution and
consensus building. The legislation requires the Institute, to the
maximum extent possible, to use service providers in the geographic
area of the conflict.
C. Why Is a New Roster Needed?
Identification of an appropriate, experienced neutral is an
essential step in initiating and conducting a credible dispute
resolution or consensus building process. There are a number of ways
that parties to a conflict identify neutrals--past experience with a
neutral, recommendations from colleagues, professional directories,
yellow pages of phone books, responses to Requests for Proposal, etc.
None of these processes is particularly rigorous or efficient in terms
of timing, particularly when the parties are seeking persons with
specialized expertise.
The U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution is charged
with assisting in the resolution of environmental, public lands and
natural resources conflicts that involve federal agencies as
stakeholders. Consistent with its mandate, the Institute must be able
to identify appropriate experienced dispute resolution and consensus
building professionals in an expedited manner. This national roster
will serve as a primary source for the Institute to access qualified
professionals who have specific background and expertise sought by
stakeholders to environmental conflicts.
EPA has long had a nationwide contract listing numerous dispute
resolution consultants and firms. This contract provides excellent
service for national level issues, but it can be cumbersome and time
consuming in seeking out neutrals for local site or facility-based
disputes or consensus building efforts.
In 1997, EPA conducted a study to examine whether a specialized
roster was necessary and whether any existing rosters (public or
private) could fulfill the need. The study concluded that EPA
(especially regional offices of EPA) needed a specialized roster or
database which would list neutrals experienced in helping parties in
environmental cases, and that there was no existing database that would
meet EPA's needs. The study identified a number of federal, state and
private rosters of neutrals. The other existing Federal roster, the
FDIC Roster of Neutrals (OMB #3064-0107), does not contain significant
numbers of neutrals experienced in environmental or natural resource
matters. A number of states have rosters of environmental neutrals, but
the entry qualifications vary significantly and even taken together,
they do not provide adequate nationwide coverage.
The Roster developed as a result of this ICR will provide the U.S.
Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, EPA and other federal
agencies with the ability to identify an additional number, range and
variety of dispute resolution and consensus building service providers
throughout the U.S. The ICR will provide two kinds of information: (1)
Information to determine if the individual applying has met the basic
entry qualifications; (2) information to be used in conducting database
searches to match cases or issues with potential neutrals experienced
in particular kinds of disputes or issues.
D. How Were the Roster Entry Qualifications and Information Developed?
EPA has entered into an Interagency Agreement with the U.S.
Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution to develop a roster
specifically designed to identify dispute resolution and consensus
building professionals (neutrals) with environmental and/or natural
resource public policy experience. The U.S. Institute convened a
workgroup to give individual opinions and advice to the Institute and
EPA regarding whether or not the roster should have entry
qualifications and how the roster should be constructed and managed.
The workgroup consists of EPA dispute resolution specialists and
contracting officers, state dispute resolution officials, private
dispute resolution practitioners and academics. As a result of the
individual advice of the workgroup and others who have responded to
requests for opinions, the U.S. Institute and the EPA are proposing the
entry criteria and information collection items included in this
Information Collection Request.
In addition to the public comment being solicited in this notice,
the U.S. Institute and EPA are conducting extensive outreach to
professional associations of dispute resolution and consensus building
professionals, state offices of dispute resolution, individual dispute
resolution practitioners, professional associations of attorneys, and
environmental and citizens groups though presentations at professional
meetings and conventions and through individual contacts with people
and
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organizations who have participated in previous dispute resolution
efforts.
E. What Are the Roster Entry Qualifications?
As a result of consultations with the workgroup, the U.S. Institute
for Environmental Conflict Resolution and EPA are proposing the
following basic entry criteria for an individual seeking to be listed
on the Roster database.
Draft Roster Entry Criteria
In order to be listed on the National Roster of Environmental
Dispute Resolution and Consensus Building Professionals, a person must:
(1) Have served as the principal or co-principal professional on two to
five environmental cases. Each case must have involved at least 40
direct case hours of contact and in the aggregate must total at least
200 case hours; and (2) accumulate a total of at least 50 points across
three scoring categories, including process experience, interactive
training experience, and substantive background. The scoring categories
and scoring system are presented in the chart below:
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Scoring categories and Maximum points
subcategories (50 points required Range of points for for the
for entry) each subcategory category
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1. Process Experience............ ..................... 90
a. Number of environmental or 0-50................. ..............
public policy cases in the
last 10 years as principal
or co-principal
professional--5 points per
case up to 10 cases.
b. Additional credit if any 0-25................. ..............
of those cases were complex
environmental or public
policy cases--5 additional
points per case up to 5
cases.
c. Number of environmental or 0-15................. ..............
public policy cases in the
last 10 years as apprentice
or junior professional--3
points per case up to 5
cases.
2. Interactive Process Training.. ..................... 20
a. Training experience--At 0 or 10.............. ..............
least 24 hours of basic
interactive training and 16
hours of advanced
interactive training in
dispute resolution and
consensus building.
b. Trainer--Directed at least 0 or 10.............. ..............
40 hours of basic
interactive training in
dispute resolution and
consensus building.
c. Senior Trainer/teacher 0 or 20.............. ..............
experience--Directed
interactive training in
dispute resolution and
consensus building totaling
150 contact hours.
3. Substantive Experience........ ..................... 25
a. Graduate degrees or 0 or 10.............. ..............
graduate program
certificates in
substantively relevant
fields, such as law,
environmental sciences or
policy, engineering, public
administration or
management, communication
theory, planning, conflict
resolution--10 points for up
to one degree/certificate.
b. Years of employment or 0-15................. ..............
volunteer experience in the
above fields--1 point for
every year up to 15 years.
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Definitions
1. Case--A case is an actual or potential dispute or lack of
agreement on one or more issues. A case may also be described as a
process of building agreement, recommendations or advice on actual or
potential issues in controversy as well as facilitating collaborative
processes among multiple parties on actual or potential issues in
controversy. Systems design and evaluation work would also be included.
For purposes of entry, a case must have engaged the applicant for more
than 40 case hours.
a. Environmental Case--Cases or processes involving environmental
pollution prevention or cleanup, land use, natural resource use or
distribution, environmental permitting, facility siting disputes,
environmental justice, negotiated rulemaking, enforcement or
compliance.
b. Public Policy Case--Cases or processes involving the setting of
governmental policy at the national, regional, state or local level,
such as environmental or natural resource policy, health policy, or
education policy.
c. Complex Environmental or Public Policy Case--An environmental or
public policy case where there are multiple issues at stake involving
at least four parties representing distinct interests at the table, at
least one of whom is a governmental entity.
2. Case Hours--Actual contact time with the parties as individuals
or a group, plus time spent in dispute or conflict assessment, dispute
resolution process design, conduct of all phases of the process, or
evaluating or reporting on the process. This does not include hours
spent prior to professional engagement in the project.
3. Environmental Dispute Resolution and Consensus Building
Professional--Any third party neutral engaged to help all parties in
the prevention or resolution of disputes or controversy. In order to
gain entry to this roster, the environmental dispute resolution and
consensus building professional must have expertise in one or more of
the following processes: conciliation, facilitation, mediation, neutral
evaluation or assessment, fact finding, mini-trials, arbitration,
dispute systems design.
4. Principal or Co-principal Professional--An environmental dispute
resolution and consensus building professional who has been engaged to
serve as or share the lead in conduct of a case. If serving as a co-
principal professional, one must be acting as a co-lead with equal role
in the conduct of the case.
5. Apprentice or Junior Professional--An assistant to the principal
or co-principal professionals in the conduct of a case.
6. Interactive Process Training--Training in alternative dispute
resolution processes and techniques, such as mediation, facilitation,
and conflict management, which is interactive in nature incorporating a
substantial number of role plays, simulations, and interactive group
demonstrations.
F. What Kinds of Additional Information Are Sought for Roster Database
Searches?
As a result of the 1997 EPA study and the individual
recommendations from the Roster Workgroup, there are data elements in
the ICR that we will use for conducting database searches on behalf of
parties to an issue or dispute. Such elements include: geographic
location of previous cases, languages spoken, minority group
identification, experience with certain types of common environmental
disputes, special skills or background. The U.S. Institute and EPA have
developed a
[[Page 64702]]
draft application form to obtain information both to make decisions on
whether an applicant qualifies for the roster and to record other
relevant information.
G. Draft Application Form
Please note that the format of this form may change when the U.S.
Institute and EPA select the database software for the Roster. We will
also be making every effort to allow for methods to obtain and possibly
submit the application electronically.
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H. Will This Roster Be the Only Source of Conflict Resolution and
Consensus Building Professionals for Environmental Disputes?
No. This Roster will be one of several sources of information with
federal environmental and natural resource agencies will use to
identify appropriately experienced dispute resolution and consensus
building professionals for use in resolving environmental and natural
resource disputes or issues in controversy under the Administrative
Dispute Resolution Act of 1996 and the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of
1996. However, an individual who wishes to be considered as a neutral
in environmental or natural resources public policy matters is not
required to be listed on this roster. Federal government personnel and
parties to environmental or natural resources issues will not be
limited to this Roster in identifying and contracting for the services
of neutrals. We hope that this Roster will expedite the identification
of individuals who are appropriate to act as neutrals in a dispute and
that the information in the Roster will shorten the time needed to
complete contract documents.
The U.S. Institute will review all applications submitted against
the entry criteria. Those who are qualified will be listed on the
database; those who do not qualify may reapply as their professional
experience develops. Professionals who are not included in this
database are in no way barred from work on disputes involving federal
agencies and the U.S. Institute will explicitly inform parties of other
known rosters they may wish to consult when selecting a neutral.
I. Does Being on This Roster Guarantee Conflict Resolution Work for the
Government?
No. Being listed on the database does not guarantee that you will
be offered work as a neutral in U.S. government cases. The decision as
to whom to retain as a neutral lies with the parties to an issue or
dispute. Being listed on this database may increase the chances of
parties finding out that you offer conflict resolution or consensus
building services.
J. Burden Statement and Estimate
Burden Statement: This ICR compiles data available from the resumes
of most conflict resolution and consensus building professionals into a
format that is standardized for database searches and retrievals. A
professional will need to complete the entire form only once.
Professionals will be allowed to update their information on a
voluntary basis periodically so that the database reflects their most
current experience, and may be required to update their experience
every five years. The database system is being designed to allow for
some electronic information submittal. The burden includes time spent
to access the professional's most recent detailed resume and to insert
that information into the ICR form.
Estimated Number of Respondents (first year): 400.
Estimated Time per Response: 90 minutes.
Estimated Total First Year Burden: 600 hours.
Estimated Number of New Respondents (per year for succeeding
years): 20.
Estimate Time per Response: 90 minutes.
Estimated Number of Updates (per year for succeeding years): 50.
Estimated Time per Update: 15 minutes.
Estimated Subsequent Year Annual Burden: 42.5 hours.
Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources
expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or
provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time
needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize
technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and
verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and
disclosing and providing information and transmit information.
Dated: October 28, 1998.
Paul Lapsley,
Director, Regulation Management Division, Office of Regulation
Management and Information, Office of Policy, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.
Kirk Emerson,
Director, U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, Morris
K. Udall Foundation.
[FR Doc. 98-31243 Filed 11-20-98; 8:45 am]
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